Cuba USA
Wow -- it is sad to read that professor Ted Henken is persona non grata in Cuba as a result of his conducting interviews of Cuban bloggers. I don't want to be political in this blog, but since his research was Internet related, I will say a few words.
I've never met professor Henken, but his writing makes it clear that he is not partial or one-sided. He says he is "against both blockades -- that of the US against Cuba and that of the Cuban government against its own people." That reminds me of a colleague who was at Radio Marti several years ago and told me that he knew he was doing his job well when both sides were angry with him. Nothing that is interesting is black or white.
I have much less Cuban expertise or experience than Professor Hencken, and have not been to Cuba for over ten years, but my experience at that time was one of openness. There were no bloggers at the time, so I had to talk mostly with the establishment. I met technical people, policy people and a few underground hackers during my trips to Cuba. I was watched. The people I met knew who I was and had read things I had written. They knew I had published reports for the "evil" Rand Corporation. Still they treated me with respect as a professional who had no political axe to grind.
One might argue that Henken's treatment was because he lied by traveling with a tourist visa. But, I don't think he would have had a problem if he had been doing interviews for a pro-government newsgroup like CubaNews, in which the majority of the contributions are by Walter Lippmann, who lives in the US and travels extensively in Cuba.
Evidently, the increased visibility and importance of the Internet has caused a tightening of control. Perhaps I would no longer be welcome in Cuba either.
- The Chringadecuba Blog Has Been Suspended.
In July, 2012, blogger Carlos Alberto Pérez moved his blog from Wordpress to his own domain chiringadecuba.com because he worried about the possibility of Wordpress censorship. Ironically, his Wordpress blog is still online, but Chiringadecuba.com has...
- China's Cctv Focuses Its Rosy Lens On Cuba
I've not watched a ton of CCTV, but everything I have seen paints a positive picture of China. That is not to say you cannot learn from CCTV, just don't expect a well-rounded presentation. CCTV America has posted short interviews of six Cuban...
- Forget Politics For A Minute -- How About Entertainment?
Twenty years ago, while working on a study of the Internet in India, I had a chance to meet Professor M.S. Swaminathan, at his research foundation in Chennai. Our research framework included several facets of the Internet in a nation, including its use...
- Eliécer Ávila And Operation Truth -- Who Is On The Payroll?
Freedom House issues an annual report on freedom on the Internet. This year they rated 60 nations and Iran was the only nation rated as less free than Cuba. One of the factors they consider in their ranking is the use of pro-government commentators to...
- Round-table Forum On The Cuban Internet And Blogs
Ted Henken, professor of Sociology and Latin American Studies at Baruch College, CUNY, and I spoke on Cuba 1.5? The State of the Internet and Uses of Social Media in a Changing Cuba at the Inter-American Dialog in Washington DC. I talked about the past,...
Cuba USA
Yuma stay home!
I've never met professor Henken, but his writing makes it clear that he is not partial or one-sided. He says he is "against both blockades -- that of the US against Cuba and that of the Cuban government against its own people." That reminds me of a colleague who was at Radio Marti several years ago and told me that he knew he was doing his job well when both sides were angry with him. Nothing that is interesting is black or white.
I have much less Cuban expertise or experience than Professor Hencken, and have not been to Cuba for over ten years, but my experience at that time was one of openness. There were no bloggers at the time, so I had to talk mostly with the establishment. I met technical people, policy people and a few underground hackers during my trips to Cuba. I was watched. The people I met knew who I was and had read things I had written. They knew I had published reports for the "evil" Rand Corporation. Still they treated me with respect as a professional who had no political axe to grind.
One might argue that Henken's treatment was because he lied by traveling with a tourist visa. But, I don't think he would have had a problem if he had been doing interviews for a pro-government newsgroup like CubaNews, in which the majority of the contributions are by Walter Lippmann, who lives in the US and travels extensively in Cuba.
Evidently, the increased visibility and importance of the Internet has caused a tightening of control. Perhaps I would no longer be welcome in Cuba either.
- The Chringadecuba Blog Has Been Suspended.
In July, 2012, blogger Carlos Alberto Pérez moved his blog from Wordpress to his own domain chiringadecuba.com because he worried about the possibility of Wordpress censorship. Ironically, his Wordpress blog is still online, but Chiringadecuba.com has...
- China's Cctv Focuses Its Rosy Lens On Cuba
I've not watched a ton of CCTV, but everything I have seen paints a positive picture of China. That is not to say you cannot learn from CCTV, just don't expect a well-rounded presentation. CCTV America has posted short interviews of six Cuban...
- Forget Politics For A Minute -- How About Entertainment?
Twenty years ago, while working on a study of the Internet in India, I had a chance to meet Professor M.S. Swaminathan, at his research foundation in Chennai. Our research framework included several facets of the Internet in a nation, including its use...
- Eliécer Ávila And Operation Truth -- Who Is On The Payroll?
Freedom House issues an annual report on freedom on the Internet. This year they rated 60 nations and Iran was the only nation rated as less free than Cuba. One of the factors they consider in their ranking is the use of pro-government commentators to...
- Round-table Forum On The Cuban Internet And Blogs
Ted Henken, professor of Sociology and Latin American Studies at Baruch College, CUNY, and I spoke on Cuba 1.5? The State of the Internet and Uses of Social Media in a Changing Cuba at the Inter-American Dialog in Washington DC. I talked about the past,...